Beauty and the Billionaire

A Dirty Fairy Tale

By: Lauren Landish

Narrated by: Tor Thom, Lance Greenfield, Carly Robins

Ruthless bastard. White knight. But I just call him “Boss”.

Thomas Goldstone. A man of a billion-dollar deals in custom-tailored suits, he demands more than your best. He’s scary. Driven. Haunted by inner demons that have taken him to the brink. But beneath the arrogant, controlling facade lies a heart of gold. It makes me want to solve him one growly, messy piece at a time. To be the only one who sees the truth of the man.

But I’m...me. A pink-haired, anime-loving, data-crunching geek with an office in the basement of Goldstone HQ. My chances with the big boss? Statistically insignificant.

His burning gaze and clenched jaw say otherwise though. They give me hope and ignite a flame so hot, my glasses fog up.

I shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. Shouldn’t tempt the beast upstairs. Shouldn't keep wondering...do fairy tales really come true?

©2019 Lauren Landish (P)2019 Lauren Landish

More dirty than fairy tale

This series only vaguely follows fairy tale themes and is instead more about three alpha males getting down and dirty with three feisty gals, while dealing with a scheming, comic-level kingpin. I like the author’s ability to balance story, steamy, and snark, even if her books run a tad long.

Series Pros:
❤️Deliciously broody alphas, but not dark romance (no mafia or non-consent themes, just mild bdsm)
❤️Gals who are making their own way instead of wanting to be kept women
❤️Naughty nooky - 3 to 4 scenes spaced throughout instead of one miserly climax after a slow burn
❤️I liked the common thread of villain Mr. Blackwell (narrated with gusto and menace by Thom) that ties the three books together, even if you have to suspend belief a lot. This trilogy should be heard in order.

Series Cons or oddities:
💔There’s a lot of inner monologues, heavy on broody angst- I think these could have been cut by half
💔There’s not as much fun or clever dialogue than some of her other books.
💔While I like narrators Greenfield and Robbins, they narrate all three pairs with similar voicing, making it hard to distinguish characters; each guy feels like Thomas and each gal feels like Mia.
❓What’s with all three guys (and the cover art) being tattooed, dark haired, white guys with five o-clock shadows? Yet another thing that made it seem like three variations of one H/h pair instead of three unique pairs/stories. C’mon Ms. Landish, time to branch out to a Jason Mamoa or Idris Elba looking fella. Also, the tattoos aren’t actually mentioned in book 1 and barely mentioned in 2, so …
❓ Each book starts in the sheets, which felt smutty rather than sexy because there’s no story/character development yet.

Book 1: Beauty & Beast: Billionaire Thomas & numbers guru Mia. Little heavy on geek-dom, but still good.
Book 2: Snow White & Huntsman: Assassin Gabriel & waitress Izzy. Less geek, more danger, yes!
Book 3: Cinderella: Navy Seal Lance & baker Charlotte. Romance + trilogy wrap-up
with endless sex-baking euphemisms. It’ll definitely frost your cupcake!

Love it

This story is so addictive, and I love the ended it seem so genuine. Can not wait for the next chapters

Beauty tames the Beast

Fantastic audio. Lance, Carly, and Tor brought these characters to life and made the entire journey enjoyable. I could listen to Lance 24/7.

Lauren Landish wrote a fantastic story that rocked me to my core. There is so much emotion in these characters as well as mystery lurking in the background. Thomas Goldstone is known as a monster, he runs his billion dollar company with an iron fist and expects perfection out of all his employees. His past has made him into the cold, lonely, man he is or what he portrays on the outside and he doesn't see any changes in his near future. Along comes Mia Karakova, perky, quirky, genius data analyst that works for Thomas. With her dyed pink hair and loud music and her obsession with anime and video games she goes through life to the beat of her own drum. Tomas is fascinated with Mia and must have her but the voice in his head reminds him he isn't worthy of her love. Is Mia strong enough to tame the beast? Can she find out who is trying to hurt Thomas and ruin his business?

This book is a replay on an old fairy tale but in a revised sexy way. In some ways Thomas is a beast but he is so much more and I fell for him immediately. Mia is amazing, she is her own person and lives life to its fullest even though she has suffered her own hurts in the past. She shows Thomas there is more to life than he has allowed himself and he gives his all to her.

This is definitely a 5 star audio and book and I highly recommend it.

excellent narrators and story

I loved Lauren's story. She knows how to grab you from the beginning to the end. I loved the development of each character and the story. The narrators were a bonus! These three are my favorite and they made the story so much better, although, the story already excellent. I love bad boy story as long as he will redeem himself at the end. This one did just that. I highly recommend!

Quick, Somebody Call HR, and maybe Legal!!!!

Thomas is a “meaner” version of Christian Grey in public, without a Red Room. Mia is no virginal Anastasia. She is an IT Nerd that loves Code and Techno, dyes her hair pink or purple, or whatever she likes. He allows his temper and sarcasm to show to those in power he disdains, she doesn’t care what anyone thinks. He has “issues” . She may be just what he needs, although I think he also needs a good Therapist.

Introduce these two, add Corporate Espionage with a high, extra hot, dose of sexual heat and “brace yourself Effie”.

Do not listen to this without your earbuds, unless it’s with a person of choice for a mood setter. (Clutching my pearls)

If you are shy about 4 and 5 letter words for human anatomy, pass this one by, you won’t survive.

The narration is excellent. Tor Thom as Thomas and Carly Robbins as Mia provide the exact voices you would expect. Lance Greenfield has a wonderful voice and is a perfect counterpoint for Tor and Carly.

What a beast!

Anything beast related and I want to listen to it. Lauren Landish has created Thomas Gladstone, wealthy business man, all business all the time, hard exterior...beast. When he sees Mia, one of his employees, he is captivated, but what she brings to him, is totally unexpected. Mia is a data analyst, video gamer and animae lover, in other words geeky girl. Her attraction to "Tommy" is strong and it's not about his money. When I started this story, I expected the typical format of the original fairy tale. Landish gives a little of that, but I found the emotion, heartache and growing love so much deeper that it drifted me away from my stereotype. We get a good look inside Thomas, the psychological trauma to a young child and the effects it has on a person as they grow. It's beautifully written, includes steamy love scenes, a little mystery and the growth of a wonderful relationship. I loved the listen.

Narrated from 3 points of view, we have an extremely talented team bringing this dirty fairy tale to life. Carly Robins is amazing, giving Mia that geeky feel in the beginning and a loving, supportive partner. Lance Greenfield is a perfect choice for Thomas. His raspy, alpha sound gives Thomas that authoritative growl, yet he has the ability to tone him down to the hurt and vulnerable man he is. Tor Thom as Blackwell has that sinister baritone. You can hear the evilness and plotting in the inflection of his voice. I can't wait to see what he will do next with Isabel!

One hell of an intense fairy tale!

Lots of new for me in this story! New to Lauren Landish, new to Carly Robins and new to Tor Thom! Starting with the story, Lauren Landish writes quite a tale! I loved Mia and her friends, I loved the flaws in Thomas, and Papa was surprisingly one of my favorite characters, though he is limited in actual scenes, he is woven so much through Mia that he is actually a developed character! Well done Lauren Landish! I am not sure how you did that but it was brilliant!

The twists were solid, everything from Thomas’ issues, the trip to Japan, the White Knight, and the villain...all has enough surprise and edge to keep me interested. Who I thought was the villain was just a horrible person and who was the villain surprised me!

Narration was solid, I will look for Carly Robins in the future, I want more from Tor Thom, and Lance Greenfield, who sometimes over does the intensity for my liking, was perfect for this book!

I will definitely be listening to more from Lauren Landish! Even though the sex was HOT the story was strong enough to ensure it wasn’t all I remember! Makes getting to the HEA just about perfect!

Wonderful

Do not have the time to read many books. So when I found this series on audible I dove right in to listen. They are great.

amazing

one word "amazing"😍😍 i about to read the whole series in 3 days. i love this series

Ok

I could even get to the first chapter. The narrator sounds like a computer. I will just order the book for my kindle instead.